Collection

Domestic furnishings

The Oakland Museum of California holds substantial collections of everyday and elite household furnishings, telling a story of making and claiming homes in California. The core of the collection is the Wilcomb Collection. In the early 20th century, founding curator Charles Wilcomb brought together early American ceramics, glass, furniture, textiles, and spinning wheels—showing the everyday lives of many early American settlers. Since then, the Museum has aquired an entire kitchen from an 1850s house in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and a World War II housing unit for workers at the Hunter's Point shipyards. Decorative arts include over a thousand early 20th century design drawings, molds, and select silver pieces from the San Francisco firm Shreve and Co. A highlight of the furniture collections are Herman Miller Consortium pieces by Charles Eames, showcasing mid-century modern style in the state.